News
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Pakistan ‘directly assisting’ Afghan Taliban: report* NATO report says Taliban ‘poised to retake Afghanistan’ after 2014
* Pakistan rejects report, says it is committed to non-interference in Afghanistan
KABUL: Taliban in Afghanistan are being directly assisted by Pakistani security services, according to a secret NATO report, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
In the report, the US military said that Taliban, backed by Pakistan, are set to retake control of Afghanistan after NATO-led forces withdraw, raising the prospect of a major failure of Western policy after a costly war.
But Pakistan rejected the report as “ridiculous” that the country is directly supporting the Afghan Taliban. “We are committed to non-interference in Afghanistan and expect all other states to strictly adhere to this principle, “Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told the BBC. Earlier, Lieutenant Colonel Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, confirmed the existence of the document, reported on Wednesday by Britian’s The Times newspaper and the BBC. But he said it was not a strategic study. “The classified document in question is a compilation of Taliban detainee opinions,” he said. “It’s not an analysis, nor is it meant to be considered an analysis.” Nevertheless, it could be interpreted as a damning assessment of the war, dragging into its 11th year and aimed at blocking a Taliban return to power.
It could also be seen as an admission of defeat and could reinforce the view of Taliban hardliners that they should not negotiate with the United States and Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s unpopular government while in a position of strength.
The US military report could boost Taliban’s confidence and make its leaders less willing to make concessions on demands for a ceasefire, and for the insurgency to renounce violence and break ties to al Qaeda.
But Britain’s Kabul Ambassador William Patey wrote on his official Twitter feed that “if elements of Taliban think that in 2015 they can take control of Afghanistan, they will be in for a shock”. He did not say whether he was referring directly to the leaked document.
Hours after The Times report, the Afghan Taliban said that no peace negotiation process had been agreed with the international community, “particularly the Americans”. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that prior to any negotiations, confidence-building measures must be completed, putting pressure on Washington to release of five Taliban. The hardline Islamist movement also said it had no plans to hold preliminary peace talks with Afghanistan’s government in Saudi Arabia, dismissing media reports of talks in the kingdom. “It would be a mistake now for the international community to leave Afghanistan, and drop us in a dark ocean,” said Afghan telecommunications worker Farid Ahmad Totakhil. While declining to comment on the BBC story on a leaked NATO report which links Pakistan to the Afghan Taliban, US military said in the document that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was assisting Taliban in directing attacks against foreign forces. Pentagon spokesperson Captain John F Kirby, while talking to the media on Wednesday observed, “We have long been concerned about ties between elements of the ISI and some extremist networks.”
He added that the Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta had been clear that “he believes the safe havens in Pakistan remain a serious problem and need to be addressed by Pakistani authorities.” Reasserting control over the country would be more difficult a second time for Taliban, however, with Afghan police and soldiers expected to number around 350,000 beyond 2014 and some foreign troops likely to remain. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk